Impoverished Laos launches new high-speed rail to China

Laos held a Buddhist ceremony on Thursday to bless its new US$6 billion high-speed rail line, a Chinese-led initiative that marks one of the biggest leaps towards modernisation by one of Asia's least-developed nations.

The rail connects China's southeastern city of Kunming to the Laos capital Vientiane, stretching more than 1,000km, and traversing mountains ranges and water systems.